Playing Flames of War
A lone jeep drives slowly down a deserted road as the crew scan the village ahead for signs of life. Without warning the distinctive ripping canvas sound of a German machine-gun tears the silence, bullets whizzing past as the driver throws the jeep into reverse. Guns start barking as the watching armoured cars open fire covering the jeep’s speedy retreat. The captain watching the unfolding drama from the turret of his tank spoke into his mike. ‘OK John, they’re there. Clear ‘em out. Over’ The rearguard is no surprise. His company has dealt with a dozen just like it in the last week alone. Like a well-oiled machine his platoons swing into action. Tanks and armoured infantry advancing on the town as the artillery’s first shells start falling amongst the defenders. A second group swings cross country, flanking the position. Ambush! Tigers!’ a strained voice bursts over the radio, punctuated by deeper cracks as the heavy tanks opened fire. ‘Three Tigers in the north woods,’ a calmer voice crackles in the headphones. ‘I need smoke. I’ve lost two tanks. We’ll back off and try to flank them, Over.’ The captain commanding a company faces a dilemma. Should he call forward his reserve tank platoon against the Tiger tanks? Or should he send it around the other flank, seeking an easier route forward? The aforesaid captain is you. What will you do? In Flames Of War, you get the chance to find out. You can set up a miniature battlefield with model tanks and soldiers representing the real-life troops that fought in World War 2. You and your opponent assume the roles of their commanders, pitting your wits and cunning against one another to attain victory and, more importantly, to have fun. The Challenge of Command Flames Of War allows you to re-fight the key battles of the Second World War. Can you turn the tide of the war in your favour? * Can your American beach assault troops overwhelm the defenders on the beaches of Normandy? * Can you lead Zhukov’s red armies to success as they push the Germans from the Mother Russia? * Can your veteran British soldiers defeat the hard fighting Germans as you push into Germany? * Can your German grenadiers throw back the Allies from the Fatherland? 'Flames Of War lets you find out. ' You will see for yourself whether the American M4 Sherman tank has the measure of the German Panzers. You will find out if you have the guts to stop a massed charge Soviet of infantry, or the cold-blooded ruthlessness to launch your own! Flames Of War combines the joys of painting and modelling your own miniature army with the challenge of facing off against your opponent across a gaming table in a social setting, and you’ll get to recreate history as it might have been! Getting Started The easiest way of learning the rules is to visit a store or a club where experienced players can run you through an introductory game and introduce you to other players. If you don’t have a store handy, you can teach yourself quite easily. Read through this book, don’t worry about remembering it all, you can look it up again later, then play a small game with a friend. The first mission, Free For All, is a great place to start. Set up the four tanks on each side, don’t worry about points, grab their Intelligence Handbook and look up their characteristics in the Arsenal, and start playing. Take it slowly at first, looking up the rules as you go, and by the end of the game, you’ll pretty much know how to play Flames Of War. Add a few more teams for the next game, and slowly build up your experience as you go. Before you know it, you’ll be a veteran tank commander! What You need to play Flames of War You don’t need much to start a game of Flames Of War. Here’s what you need. An opponent Flames Of War is a social game played by two or more players, so grab a friend and get started. Two Armies The Flames Of War range of 15mm (1/100th) scale miniatures is specifically designed for the game and is available through all good hobby stores. Those can be also replaced and/or supplemented by 1/100 miniatures sold by other manufacturers, such as Russian Zvezda or British Plastic Soldier Company. A Rulebook The rulebooks contain all the rules you need to play Flames Of War. They are available in any Starter Set for the game. Intelligence Handbooks Flames Of War has a great variety of forces to field. You can find these in our Intelligence Handbooks. These provide all the organisations, points, characteristic, you need to create an army for Flames Of War. In addition, you can also get these in digital formate through the Flames Of War Digital App available through the Google Play store for Android or the iTunes App Store for iPad. Another option is Forces Of War found at http://forces.flamesofwar.com, our force builder where you can create your forces online. An Artillery Template Artillery and aircraft are not precision weapons. Their shells and bombs blanket a wide area, possibly wiping out dozens of the enemy at a time. An Artillery Template makes it easy to work out who is hit, and who isn’t, when you introduce these weapons into your games. A Battlefield Whether it’s the kitchen table or a custom-built gaming table, you’ll need a large flat surface to play the game. A 6’ x 4’ (180cm x 120cm) board covered by a Battlefield in a Box Gaming Mat, a green sheet, or painted and flocked, all make ideal battlefield bases. Terrain You’ll need a selection of terrain features like hills, woods, fields, hedges, buildings, and roads to create a realistic battlefield for your troops to fight over. The pre-painted terrain in the Battlefield in a Box range makes setting up a battlefield easy, though terrains from other tabletop games will also do the trick. Those objects can be made at home as well. Dice Flames Of War uses ordinary six-sided dice. You can personalise your force with army-specific dice marked with your force’s insignia. Tokens Even though they are toy soldiers, your troops react to heavy fire like real soldiers. Sometimes they get pinned down or bail out of their tanks. They get stuck in rough terrain and go to ground, hiding from the enemy. Tokens help you keep track of the state of your troops. Tape Measure You’ll need a tape measure or ruler to measure movement and shooting ranges. You can use Metric or Imperial measurements, whichever suits you best. How does it work Reality is immensely complex and rather messy. This game has the advantage of giving players virtually unlimited opportunities to fight new battles and collect new armies. Unfortunately, it also requires rules to cover the many aspects of something as big as the battles of World War II. The good news is that you don’t need to know all of the rules to play the game. You can start with the basics and add things like infantry, artillery, and even aircraft when you are ready. To help you understand the rules, this section explains some of the concepts behind the game. Die Rolls Flames Of War uses the same standard six-sided dice that games like Monopoly and Yahtzee use. When the rules say to roll a die, they give a number that you must equal or exceed, for example, 3+ (a roll of 3, 4, 5, or 6 means success), or 5+ (a roll of 5 or 6 means success). Any roll lower than the number means the attempt has failed. In some cases, such as shooting at partly concealed targets, the number needed for success will be modified. Add +1 to the required score for each of the modifiers that apply at the time. For instance, if you normally need a 3+ to hit the enemy, but the target was both: * at long range and * concealed in a wood, the required score on each die would go up to 5+. If the score needed goes above 6, the following rules apply: * If the score needed is 7 and the die roll is 6, then the roll succeeds on a further roll of 5+. * If the score needed is 8 and the die roll is 6, then the roll succeeds on a further roll of 6. * If the score needed is 9 or more, then the roll cannot succeed. Sometimes the score required is shown as ‘Auto’ or 1+ (in older editions). This means that the roll will automatically succeed. On the other hand, if any other score is modified to be better than 2+ (such as an attempt to hit a target normally requiring a 3+ to hit with a massive artillery bombardment giving a -3 modifier), it will always fail on a roll of 1. If the rules require you to roll more than one die, treat each roll as a separate success or failure. Re-rolls In some situations, where your first roll fails, you may be allowed a re-roll. A re-roll is just what the name says - you get to ignore the first attempt and roll the die again. The score on the second die roll is what counts. You never get more than one re-roll per situation. Measuring Flames Of War gives game measurements in both inches (Imperial) and centimetres (Metric). You should agree on which system you and your opponent will use before the game begins—you must use one of these two systems, not switch between both. Generally, it’s a good idea to use the system you are most familiar with. You are allowed to measure any distances on the battlefield any time you want to. You can measure how far your weapons can shoot, how far the opponent’s weapons can shoot, or even whether or not you have enough movement to assault at the end of the turn. After all, your soldiers have maps, range-finders, and binoculars to help them work these things out. Talk to Your Opponent You can make your game flow more easily by letting your opponent know what your intention is when moving your forces. If you tell them you are intending to stay out of range, or that you think your troops are completely out of sight behind a wood, it reduces disputes if a model gets bumped later. WYSIWYG Flames Of War is a What You See Is What You Get, or WYSIWYG, game. One miniature represents one soldier or vehicle. In many cases you can resolve difficulties by remembering this and taking a look at the situation from a model’s-eye view, down on the ground so to speak. Have a look at what your miniature could see from where they are or where they could go on the terrain as modelled. Special Rules To keep things simple, the main part of the Flames Of War rules only cover the more common cases. Rules that are specific to certain weapons, vehicles, units, or armies are given as special rules. These special rules either add additional capabilities or allow the teams and platoons that use them to break the normal rules. When a special rule conflicts with the normal rules, apply the special rule. Solving in-game Issues Normally turns in Flames Of War follow a straightforward sequence. However, some rules, particularly special rules, cause things to happen out of turn. An example of this would be anti-aircraft weapons engaging enemy aircraft when they appear in the enemy turn. When this happens, interrupt the normal turn sequence, resolve the unusual activity, then return to where you were and continue the turn. In a hobby such as wargaming, it’s impossible to overemphasise the importance of being a good sport. Whether you are crushing your opponent or you are on the receiving end of an almighty pummelling, it’s always good to remember that whatever the outcome of the battle, playing is all about having fun. Some good basic rules are to be fair, play to the spirit of the game, treat your opponents with courtesy and respect, and don’t get too bogged down with the rules. Oh, that and don’t give up! The odds may look grim with your army set to be beaten, but hang in there. Some of the best stories are about heroic last stands and a few brave individuals turning the tide and holding out against the odds to finally snatch an unlikely victory. Remember, whether you are facing a friend or a new opponent, treat them just the way you would like to be treated and you will get so much more from the hobby. Working it out Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out how a rule should be applied to an unusual situation that has occurred in your game. If something unexpected happens, talk with the other players and try to come up with a good interpretation of what would happen. The best thing to do is to make a quick call that both you and your opponent can agree on. If you can’t come to an agreement quickly just roll a die: * If you roll 4, 5, or 6, use your interpretation of the rule for the rest of the game. * A roll of 1, 2, or 3, means that you have to accept your opponent’s interpretation of the rule for the rest of the game. After the game, when you have more time for discussion without holding up the battle, sit down and agree how you’ll handle the situation in the future. If you still aren’t sure, you can always check out the forum at www.FlamesOfWar.com and ask other players how they would handle the problem. Category:Game mechanics